


On Thin Ice (H2oVanoss Hockey AU)

by GoBigOrGoHoe



Category: Banana Bus Squad, H2OVanoss - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Developing Relationship, Falling In Love, Hockey, M/M, Sexuality Crisis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-03-23 21:29:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13796724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoBigOrGoHoe/pseuds/GoBigOrGoHoe
Summary: This is supposed to be a story about hockey, the BBS boys, falling in love and coming to terms with your own sexuality.Evan plays for the moderately successful Banana Bus Squad and his life couldn't be any more normal. That is until the team gains two new members, Luke and Jonathan. The new friendship that forms between Evan and Jonathan is strong and has the potential to develope into something more but the confusion about their sexualities and the fear of how their teammates would react get in the way.I suck at summaries. Take this excerpt instead ;)"After all, the hockey player didn’t want Jonathan to think that he was some weirdo and staring at another man like he had done definitely counted as weird.Still, Evan couldn’t help it.[...] Jonathan was a light in the darkness and Evan found himself gravitate to him like a moth."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please keep in mind that English is not my first language and please excuse any mistakes that I may have made :)  
> Also I love getting feedback so please tell me what you think ;)

It was meant to be a test game. The Banana Bus Squad against some team from a minor league that Evan didn’t even bother to learn the name of. It was only a training unit to prepare them for the upcoming season, their trainer Brock had told them before the game. Obviously he had not expected the group of amateurs to put up such a fight. And he had most certainly not expected the opposing team to have a pretty impressive left wing forward skater, whose jersey spelled ‘Connor’ above the large number 2. The guy was quick and agile, easily sneaking the puck through their defences many times, giving Smitty and Ryan a hard time.  Although Evan’s team was in the lead by one goal it was only the beginning of the third period. Plenty of time to either secure the win or lose all dignity.  
  
Evan grit his teeth and pushed himself to skate even faster to catch up with the puck and retrieved it quickly before taking two powerful first steps, pulling himself away from the opposing right defender and then he was running on the very edge of the rink, the goal was the only thing on his mind right now. He knew he was fast and that was why he didn’t expect to be shoved against the side board with force, successfully pushing up his visor. The damn left winger had actually managed to catch up with him and now they were fighting for the puck, circling and pushing each other in order to gain access to the small object. Just as Evan was about to win the duel they were joined by one of the other teams defensemen, a tall, burly man who raised his stick higher than he should and Evan knew what was going to happen before he felt it. The hard stick hit his face which was still unprotected and the last thing he heard was the referee imposing a penalty before everything went black.

He woke up only minutes later but it was already too late. From Tyler he learned that the same player who had hurt him had also managed to injure Craig’s knee. Down by two skaters, the Banana Bus Squad had no other choice than forfeiting. 

  
Evan was a usually calm and reasonable man but he was also competitive. That’s why he was in a very bad mood when they were sitting in the changing room, analysing the game. The team meeting ended with Brock telling them that they needed not only a new left winger because Craig would likely not be able to play for the entire coming season. They also needed someone to replace Bryce, the young defenseman, who was out for the season as well because he needed to focus on school.    
“But don’t worry guys.” Brock said before he released them, “I think I already know the right guys to get the job done.”  
  
Evan was mad, he needed to cool down and to him there was no better way to do that than in the rink. That was why he stayed behind after his team and their opponents had left. He skated for about half an hour before he went to hit the showers. He was just about to change into his regular clothes when he heard a noise coming from the door. He turned around and saw the left winger from the opposing team standing in the doorway. Now that he wasn’t wearing his equipment the Canadian could see that the other man had short, dark hair, tanned skin and he could see that a few freckles graced his nose. He had intense blue eyes that almost seemed to glow in the dimly lit room.

“What are you still doing here?” Evan asked, annoyed with the other man’s presence.   
“I just wanted to apologize for my teammate’s behaviour.” The man in front of him said seriously.   
“Why the fuck are you apologizing for something someone else did?”  
The other man shrugged and stepped a few feet closer.   
“That looks like it hurts like a bitch.”   
He pointed at Evan’s black eye.   
“I’ve had worse.” Evan simply stated and felt a little uncomfortable because he suddenly realized that he was only wearing boxer shorts in front of a stranger.  
Said stranger seemed to notice that too.   
“I’m sorry.  I don’t think I’ve introduced myself yet. I’m Jonathan, but you can call me Jon if you want.”  
“Your name is Jon Connor?” Evan wanted to know incredulously.   
Jonathan smirked, the amusement sparkling in his blue eyes.   
“I know. It’s ridiculous, right?”  
Evan smiled as well before remembering that he was still half naked and he reached for his shirt and put it on.   
Jonathan cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head, awkwardly.   
“Well, I guess I better go. Again, no hard feelings right?” He asked and extended his hand.   
When Evan took it and Jonathan smiled at him again he felt a strange flutter in his stomach. “Maybe we’ll see each other again sometime.” Evan said.   
“Yeah maybe. I think I’d like that.” Jonathan answered and winked at him and before Evan could stop himself he blushed.   
Jonathan grinned again and turned to leave. Before he left the room and before Evan could stop himself, he yelled after him.  
“I’m Evan by the way.”   
Jonathan glanced over his shoulder and winked again.   
“I know.”  
Then he was gone.

* * *

One week later Evan met Tyler in the parking area in front of the ice rink. Brock had called them in for a training session and also in order to introduce the team to two new skaters.   
“Hey, Evan, how’s the face?” Tyler asked as they walked toward the entrance.  
Evan shrugged.   
“Still a little sore and swollen. Have you heard from Mini?”  
“He told me he is still in pain most of the time but he assured me he wouldn’t miss a single game.”  
“That’s good to hear.” Evan nodded and opened the door to let them both inside.   
“What do you think the new guys will be like?” Tyler wanted to know.   
“I don’t know. I just hope they’re at least half as good as Crag and Bryce.” Evan replied as they entered the changing rooms and greeted the rest of the team.  
The two goalies Marcel and Anthony, the defenders Ryan, Smitty and Scotty, and Daithi who played centre, just like Tyler, were already there. The guys were soon joined by the remaining forwards, Lui and Brian. The only person that was missing was Brock but none of the players were surprised about that. Their trainer had the habit of being late. One time that almost caused the Banana Bus Squad to miss their flight which earned him the nickname “Early Bird”; a term that was more than fitting right now.  
  
Finally, after what felt like hours the door to the changing room opened and Brock entered, followed by two men. One of them had a beard and was as tall as Tyler and the other one was as tall as Evan and had a very familiar face. The Canadian couldn’t believe his eyes. Jonathan stood next to Brock and grinned at him, proudly wearing a Banana Bus Squad jersey and giving him thumbs up.

“Guys, I’d like you to meet your new teammates, Luke and Jonathan. They both recently moved here from North Carolina. You might recognize them from our last game.”  
“Please don’t tell me you were the guy that knocked me and Craig out.” Evan exclaimed worriedly and glanced up at Luke’s face.   
“Nah, man.” The taller man replied, “That wasn’t me. I wasn’t even on the ice when that happened.”  
Evan and the rest of the team visibly relaxed at that statement.   
“Anyway,” Brock said, “I thought we could have a small training session to see how you guys work together, so go get changed, guys.”  
During the following hour or so it turned out that Luke and Jonathan were perfect for the team. Luke seemed to instantly click with his fellow defenseman Ryan and Jonathan was apparently a versatile person who was able to adjust to no matter who he was teamed up with. The player he seemed to work with the best though was Evan and that was why Brock decided to make them partners. That was a new technique he wanted to try this season. Every player that had a counterpart had to partner up with said counterparts. The defensemen Ryan and Luke were an obvious duo. Lui and Brian were also a forwards team, while Scotty and Smitty formed another defensive pair.   
“I want you guys to train in pairs. I want you to work as if you were the same person. By the end of this season I want you and your partners to be soulmates.” Brock explained to them later on.   
“That’s a little gay, Brock. I’m not gonna lie.” Tyler joked and some of the guys giggled at that.

Evan was conflicted. On one hand he was excited to try out this new method and a little part of him was eager to have an excuse to spend time with his new teammate. On the other hand though this part of him was exactly what made him uncomfortable with the prospect of having to hang out with Jonathan. For some reason, whenever he looked at the man from North Carolina it caused a strange fluttering sensation in his stomach and Evan didn’t know what he was supposed to do with the unknown feeling and neither did he know how to turn it off.


	2. Chapter 2

The following weeks were torture. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how hard he fought against it, Evan couldn’t seem to get rid of the flutter in his stomach that always occurred whenever he was close to Jonathan. It most certainly didn’t help that the two men were forced to be around each other all the time.   
The first game of the season would be in two weeks and the team was training relentlessly but Jonathan’s presence was infuriatingly distracting to Evan.  
  
More often than not his eyes would wander in the direction of his new teammate. Whenever he saw the other man smile at Luke with a sparkle in his blue eyes, Evan’s heart seemed to skip a beat. Whenever Jonathan was especially physically close to him, he felt like he couldn’t breathe and his lungs felt empty all of the sudden.   
Nothing though compared to what he felt when Jonathan laughed. The Canadian could still vividly remember the first time he had heard the winger laugh out loud.

He, Lui, Brian and Jonathan had gone to a pizzeria after a long training session in order to treat themselves. They had all been sitting around a round table and chatting carelessly when suddenly Brian had realized the brilliance of Jonathan’s name and started to imitate the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator.

“Jon Connor” He had called over and over again, making his teammates howl with laughter.  
  
And that was when Evan had heard Jonathan laugh, way louder than the rest of them. The sound had been music in his ears and when the Canadian’s eyes had met Jonathan’s for a brief moment, time around them had seemed to stand still.  The other guys had been in tears from laughing too hard but Evan’s only focus had been on the man sitting in front of him and it had taken him an immense amount of strength to force himself to look away and hope that Jonathan hadn’t noticed the way he had been staring at him.  
After all, the hockey player didn’t want Jonathan to think that he was some weirdo and staring at another man like he had done definitely counted as weird. 

Still, Evan couldn’t help it.

He couldn’t stop that he felt the overwhelming urge to be close to his fellow skater. He wanted to get to know him and spend time with him. The American was exactly Evan’s kind of person. He was a likeable guy and fun to be around. They had the same humour and similar interests. They enjoyed the same movies and video games. Jonathan was a light in the darkness and Evan found himself gravitate to him like a moth.  
Eventually the two forwards were spending so much time together that their teammates started to make jokes about them. “Gee Evan,” Tyler had said one day, “It’s like you guy are joined at the hip.”  
“Yeah,” Luke had chimed in and pointed an accusing index finger at Jonathan, “It’s like you ditched me because you found a new best friend.”  
Tyler had laughed at that.   
“No, they’re more like boyfriends than best friends.” He had exclaimed mockingly and Evan had felt his face heat up a little.  
Jonathan had simply chuckled and thrown an arm around Evan’s shoulders before giving Luke a challenging look.   
“You’re just jealous because he’s prettier than you.” Jonathan had stated that compliment in such a casual way that it had left Evan lost for words and he had been incredibly thankful when Brock had chosen that exact moment to enter the room and demand their attention.   
The Canadian still didn’t know what he would have said if they hadn’t been interrupted by their trainer. Would he have been able to just laugh it off like Jonathan? Would he have returned the compliment?He found Jonathan attractive; there was no chance of denying the obvious. The realization had hit the Canadian hard. He had never thought of another man as attractive, had never even thought it would be possible to think like that. The concept was new. It was exciting and thrilling. And at the same time it scared him to death.   
If he was attracted to Jonathan then that meant that he was gay, right?  
The thought was even scarier.  
I can’t be gay, Evan said to himself repeatedly while he tried to ignore the goosebumps on his skin that he got whenever Jonathan’s fingers unintentionally brushed against his own.  
I can’t be attracted to another man, he told himself over and over but he couldn’t stop admiring the view that was Jonathan, every time they changed together after training.  
I can’t be falling for a guy, Evan tried to lie to himself but the truth screamed at him every time he looked at his teammate.

* * *

Evan was rudely snapped out of his deep thoughts by Jonathan who was waving his hand in front of the Canadian’s face in order to get his attention. They were both currently sitting on the couch in Evan’s living room. They were hanging out after training like they did most of the time. 

“I’m sorry,” Evan quickly apologized after realizing he had no idea what Jonathan had said to him, “Can you repeat that?”  
Jonathan rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner.   
“You know, sometimes I feel like I’m the only one holding this marriage together.” He sighed dramatically, “Because you never listen to me.”  
“We’re not married, Jon.” Evan smiled at his friend’s idiotic behaviour.   
“Well thank god for that.” Jonathan exclaimed and grinned before booping Evan’s nose with his long index finger, “You would make a terrible husband.”  
Jonathan’s cute and playful attitude made Evan smile even wider before the American’s words hit him in the stomach and his chest ached a little bit.  
“Shut up, I would be a fantastic husband. I’d bring you flowers every day and take you to expensive restaurants and shit like that.” He protested.   
“Wow,” Jonathan said, a smile tugging at his lips, “You sure have a way with words. I take it back. You would be a great husband.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah,” Jonathan confirmed but Evan could see the mischief sparkling in his eyes. “Just add regular blowjobs to the list and you’d be the husband of the year.”  
Evan suppressed the overwhelming urge to flush a brilliant bright red when he imagined himself on his knees in front of Jonathan; the way the American would look down at him and how much Evan would love the taste and enjoy the moans.   
The thought was almost too much to bear and the Canadian fought to keep his facial expressions neutral and his breathing steady.   
“What did you say earlier, by the way?” Evan asked quickly, hoping that Jonathan would drop the topic and fortunately he did.   
“I asked if you wanted to watch this new movie on Netflix.” Jonathan repeated the question from earlier and Evan shrugged.   
“Sure. Do you want to order pizza?” He wanted to know and Jonathan gave him a smile that increased the pain in his chest.   
“Why is that even a question?” The American wondered out loud and reached for his phone on the table, “I’ll make the call. Extra peperoni for you, right?”  
Evan nodded and Jonathan stood up because he was the kind of person that had to walk around while talking on the phone. That was only one of the many things Evan adored about his friend.  
When Jonathan turned around, Evan caught himself staring at his teammate’s ass.  
He groaned internally.   
God, he was so fucked.


	3. Chapter 3

It was the tenth game of the season. The Banana Bus Squad was doing pretty good so far this season and now they had to play against a team from Chicago. For Ryan who had played for the team prior to transferring it was a difficult situation and his conflicted feelings about having to compete against and physically attack his former teammates were clearly visible. Said former teammates however had seemingly no qualms about trying to hurt the defenseman.

Everyone could see that opposing team was mainly focusing on attacking Ryan as well as Luke whenever they were on the ice and apparently that was their weak spot because it was almost the end of the third period and The Banana Bus Squad was leading two to nothing.  
Both Lui and Jonathan had scored a goal and Evan was just on his way over to the net in order to score another one when he heard turmoil behind him. The Canadian saw Jonathan rush past him and when he turned around he saw what had caught his friend’s attention.

Luke was lying on the ice, his helmet a few feet away and a puddle of blood was forming around his head, dyeing the white ice a threatening red. The sight made Evan sick to the stomach. 

Ryan was kneeling beside Luke, pressing both of his hands on a rather large gash on the side of the tall defenseman’s face. Of course the clock was stopped immediately and the paramedics rushed in. Evan moved closer to the scene and stopped next to Marcel who had left the net.   
“What happened?” he asked him because the goalie had been in the close proximity of the incident and therefore must have seen something.  
“He got checked from behind, fell and landed on the edge of a stick face first.” Marcel explained.  
Evan turned his head to see Jonathan, who had to be held back by Tyler because he looked like he was going to go on a rampage.  
Deciding that there was nothing he could do for Luke other than giving the paramedics room to work, Evan glided over to Jonathan and for a second he was tempted to hug his friend. He wanted to hold him and tell him that it was going to be alright. Injuries to the head were a common occurrence while playing hockey and most head wounds tended to bleed profusely even if the injury was only shallow. Luke would be okay. They would take him to the hospital and stitch him up and he’d be as good as new. Evan wanted to tell him all of that but he didn’t. There were too many people around them and he didn’t want them to get the wrong idea. He craved to console Jonathan but he couldn’t because he was too afraid. And it almost killed him.

* * *

Luke had to be taken to a hospital and the game ended with an uneventful two to one in favour of the Banana Bus Squad but none of the players were in the mood to celebrate. Instead they all decided to drive to the hospital and visit their defenseman who had to stay overnight in order to check for signs of a concussion. The doctors and nurses were visibly annoyed with the presence of an obnoxiously loud hockey team crowding their corridors and despite Brock’s attempts at calming them down they were asked to leave eventually. Only Ryan, Jonathan and Evan were allowed to stay behind because they were apparently the only ones the hospital staff deemed calm enough to not stress out their patients.   
They talked to the tall man in the hospital bed for a while before Ryan cleared his throat and turned to look at Jonathan and Evan.  
“Hey guys, would you mind giving us a minute?” He asked and Evan watched Luke and Jonathan exchange glances before the latter nodded with a strange look on his face.  
“C’mon, Ev.” He said to the Canadian and went to leave, “I need some fresh air anyway.”  
Evan followed him like a lost puppy.   
Once they had left the building they sat down on a nearby bench.

“Why did Ryan want to be alone with Luke?” Evan asked and saw a small smile ghost over Jonathan’s face.

“Probably so they can hold hands and make out in private.” He replied nonchalantly.

Evan was taken aback by that statement.

“You mean they’re…?”

“Together?” The American finished Evan’s sentence and shrugged, “Dunno. I’m never sure with Luke and his relationships but there’s definitely something going on between them.”

“I didn’t know they are gay.” Evan blurted out before he could stop himself and he realized how stupid that sounded.

“They’re not. Well, at least Luke isn’t. He is just… very open.” Jonathan explained and tilted his head to the side, “Why does that matter anyway?”

“It doesn’t.” Evan was quick to assure him and hated the sudden awkwardness between them, “I was just curious.”

Jonathan raised his eyebrows.

“Curious? About what?”

Evan wanted to curl up and die rather than explaining himself but he forced himself to elaborate nevertheless.

“’m not sure. It’s just… I don’t know many gay people or whatever Luke is and there aren’t a lot of people like him in sports.” He paused and thought for a second before adding, “Are there?”

“The hell do I know?” Jonathan responded, “But I guess there are a lot more than you think. Most of them just never out themselves so we’ll probably never know. Why are we talking about this anyway?”

“I don’t know,” Evan admitted, “I guess, the whole ‘gay-thing’ just intrigues me.”

“The whole ‘gay-thing’ intrigues you.” Jonathan repeated slowly emphasizing every single word, “The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Evan rubbed the back of his head and searched for an answer in his mind that wouldn’t sound weird or make Jonathan freak out.

“Just that… I don’t know… Kissing another guy… I can’t imagine what that must be like. Can you?”

Jonathan didn’t respond immediately. He just looked at Evan carefully as if he was considering something.

“Yes.” He finally said after what felt like hours.

“Yes?” Evan asked, completely dumbfounded. “Does that mean, you’ve kissed a guy before?”

Jonathan nodded.

“Once. I was at a party and very drunk and there was this guy who was gay and I was- how did you say it- curious.” The American explained before looking at Evan expectantly, “Do you have a problem with that?”

“God, no.” Evan hurried to say and looked down at his hands that were in his lap. He couldn’t bear to look at Jonathan.

They sat in silence for a while until Evan plucked up the courage to speak again.

“What was it like?”

“Kissing a guy?”

Evan fought against the weird sensation in his stomach and he tried to control his emotions.

The thought of Jonathan kissing a guy was exciting. The thought of Jonathan kissing a guy that wasn’t Evan was upsetting.

“Yes.” He confirmed and was proud that he managed to keep his voice steady.

He could hear Jonathan shift next to him and he looked up only to see the American staring at him with a puzzled expression.

“Do you want me to show you?”

Evan thought he might faint. His heart suddenly seemed to beat a lot faster and his face became unbearably hot. Was this a joke? A trick? A cruel prank?

But Jonathan’s eyes showed no signs of deception.

“Are you serious?” He asked cautiously but his eyes already flickered down to the other man’s lips that curved up into a gorgeous smile as Jonathan nodded and moved closer to him.

Evan held his breath when Jonathan placed his right hand on his cheek and closed the gap between them.

It was a short kiss. Sweet and almost innocent and as soon as it ended Evan already craved for more. Jonathan’s lips were warm despite the rather cold temperatures and they were the sweetest thing he’d ever tasted. He was tempted to just grab the other man by the neck and crash their lips together once more but he knew that he couldn’t.

Instead he forced himself to open his eyes. He hadn’t even realized he had closed them.

Jonathan was watching him again with the same unreadable expression.

“How was it?” His friend asked and Evan was lost for words. He didn’t know how to describe it.

“It was…” Spectacular? Wonderful? Perfect? Everything he had dreamed of? The best kiss ever? “…nice.”

Jonathan raised an eyebrow.

“Just nice? Ouch man, you’re hurting my feelings.” He said and bumped Evan’s shoulder playfully before standing up, “Let’s go back inside. I wanna see if I can find some coffee in this damn hospital.”

How was it possible that the kiss affected him so much and Jonathan didn’t even seem the tiniest bit fazed by what happened between them?

Evan’s heart ached but he forced a smile to appear on his face before he stood up as well and walked past Jonathan in the direction of the hospital doors.

If only he had turned around he would have seen the desire and yearning on his teammate’s face.


	4. Chapter 4

Jonathan didn’t know when it had happened. He didn’t know at which point his casual joking and flirting with Evan had turned into something serious. He had been attracted to guys before and being best friends with Luke had taught him to be open-minded but apart from the one time that he had kissed that one man at the party he had never even thought about acting on said attraction.  
That was of course until Evan came along.  
  
Jonathan had no clue what had been driving him the day he had offered to kiss his friend. Maybe it had just been the rush of adrenalin in his body from the game and Luke’s injury. Maybe it had been the way the dim light had shone on Evan’s black hair. Maybe he had simply wanted to kiss Evan. Maybe he had just wanted to take the perhaps only opportunity he would get.  
  
Evan was perfect and he didn’t even know it.  
The Canadian had no idea how much his mere presence affected Jonathan.  
How brilliant his smile was and how it lit up his entire face.   
He had no idea how smart, funny and kind he was and how much Jonathan admired him for his skills on the ice.  
He never noticed the way people’s heads turned whenever he walked by.  
Evan was shy and not a very public person and the fact that he had let Jonathan into his little shell made the American indescribably happy.  
  
The kiss they had shared on the bench in front of the hospital had been everything.  
Even though it had been short, the memory of how Evan’s lips felt against his own still lingered on his mind and he desperately wanted to repeat that even though he knew that he probably shouldn’t.  
  
Unfortunately it seemed that Jonathan couldn’t keep his hands off of his friend.  
Whenever he had the opportunity he searched for physical contact. Sometimes it was innocent, like ‘accidentally’ brushing their hands together or hugging him a little too long and tight after one of them scored a goal.  
Sometimes though, those innocent little touches were not enough for him.

One time for example, the two skaters were watching a movie together when the American couldn’t resist the urge to move closer to Evan and rest his head on the other man’s broad shoulders. Evan’s reaction had been unexpected because instead of trying to move away or pushing him off, the Canadian had simply shifted a little so the both would be more comfortable, loosely putting his arm around him and resting it softly on his waist. 

Jonathan had been in heaven, even though he knew that Evan probably hadn’t even noticed what he was doing and that they had sort of cuddled that day.  
Still, the fact that his friend hadn’t pushed him away sparked a small flame of hope inside of Jonathan and he held on to that hope like his life depended on it.

* * *

Their team took the break during January as the opportunity to celebrate the successes of the season so far and since they were on a break, they were even allowed to drink. The party was at Lui’s place; a nice house he had recently rented.

Jonathan was standing at the kitchen counter next to Brian and Craig, who was of course invited as well, even though he wasn’t an active teammate at the moment.  
  
Evan was standing several few feet away from him, across the room. He was talking to Tyler and Daithi and Jonathan couldn’t help but glance over to them every now and then, while silently taking in how his friend seemed a little awkward, as he almost always did during social events. The Canadian seemed to have no idea what to do with his hands, constantly switching between shoving them in the pockets of his nicely fitting jeans or gripping his glass of whiskey  with his long, slender fingers, fidgeting nervously.   
  
Seeing him like that made Jonathan admire his friend even more and he couldn’t find the strength to look away.   
  
He was eventually obvious enough that Brian called him out on it.   
  
“Do you want me to move over so you can stare at him better?” He asked in his thick irish accent and Jonathan forced himself to maintain an indifferent expression on his face but apparently he wasn’t very convincing because the Irishman in front of him sighed and rolled his eyes. “You know, if I had known that you are already head over heels for the snowman over there I wouldn’t have tried to dress up for you today. You could have saved me some time.”  
“Sorry,” Jonathan claimed before he realized what Brian had said, “Wait, what? What do you mean, you dressed up for me? Are you trying to hit on me?”

Jonathan hadn’t even known his fellow forward was into men.  
  
“I have been for weeks now. Thanks for finally noticing.” Brian replied but there was no real venom in his voice. He actually sounded a little amused.   
“I’m sorry, Brian but I’m not into dudes.” Jonathan said and cringed internally because he knew it was a lie.   
“Oh, please. Everyone can see the way you look at Evan. Until now I thought it was only because of his kick-ass biceps; that’s why I decided to give it a shot but now I see that I never had a chance because you’re not just attracted to him- you’re in love with him” Brian explained casually and Jonathan bit his lower lip.  
“You think so?”  
  
Brian nodded solemnly and Jonathan took the moment to appreciate the Irishman’s appearance. He was tall and blond and pretty and not Evan.   
He was attractive with his blue eyes, stylish haircut and Jonathan could acknowledge that. But he didn’t make his stomach flutter. The only man that managed to do that was Evan.  
The realization hit him hard.  
Shit.  
Brian was right.   
He was in love with Evan.  
  
He looked back over to his friend and at that exact moment Evan looked in his direction as well and smiled at him. Jonathan didn’t know if he wanted to throw up or walk over to the handsome Canadian and kiss him senselessly.  
In the end he opted for the third option: Throw back several shots in a row and hope for the alcohol to solve his problem and help with his dilemma.  
He couldn’t be in love with Evan. They were just friends and Evan was straight anyway. He had only been curious when he had accepted Jonathan’s offer in front of the hospital. That was the only reason. It had been pure, innocent curiosity and nothing more.   
  
It was again Brian, who pulled him out of his deep thoughts.  
  
“If it’s any consolation, I think that he is in love with you too.”   
Jonathan looked at him as if he had grown a second head.  
“Are you outta your mind? Evan is as straight as a stick.”  
Brian just shrugged and smiled crookedly.  
“Have you forgotten about hockey sticks? They are curved at the end.” He said, wiggling his eyebrows, “You’ll never know if you don’t try.”  
“What, you want me to go over there and be like ‘Hey, Ev, I know we’re friends and all but I totally have the hots for you and I think we should fuck and get married.’ I don’t think that’s a good idea, do you?” Jonathan replied and his voice dripped with sarcasm.  
Brian didn’t answer. Instead he was focused on something behind Jonathan. The look on his face was a mixture between amusement and horror and Jonathan knew what was going on before he turned around.   
Evan was standing behind him with a stunned expression on his attractive face and Jonathan didn’t know how he had managed to sneak up on them but he was one hundred percent sure that he had heard enough.  
  
Brian quickly excused himself and mumbled something about needing to talk to Brock, who wasn’t even at the party, leaving Jonathan alone with Evan.  
The American cleared his throat awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head before forcing himself to grin sheepishly at his friend.  
  
“I think we need to talk.” Evan said, with a strange look and a tone in his voice that the American couldn’t place..  
  
Jonathan nodded meekly and followed the Canadian outside to what he was sure would be the end of their friendship. 


	5. Chapter 5

onathan’s mind was racing and his heart was beating unbearably fast in his chest as he closed the front door behind them. They were now standing outside of Lui’s house on the front porch but Evan didn’t stop walking.   
Instead he led them to a dark corner at the side of the building. There he stopped and turned around to face Jonathan, who was leaning against the wall, but he still didn’t look directly at him and it scared Jonathan to death.   
He was so afraid that his friend would maybe never feel comfortable enough to look him in the eyes again.   
  
Internally, he already thought about what he would do if his fears came true. He would have to leave the team, that much was certain. And that meant also leaving Luke behind, because his best and closest friend was totally smitten by his fellow defenseman Ryan and even though Jonathan knew that Luke would give it all up if Jonathan asked him, he didn’t want him to.  
He wanted Luke to be happy with Ryan. He wanted him to have the life that he would most likely never have.   
  
Jonathan was so consumed by his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed that Evan was waiting for him to say something. He had never been good with words but right now, standing in front of the man he was in love with, it was even harder for him to form a sentence. What made it worse was the fact that the Canadian was still determined to look anywhere but him.  
  
“Evan” He started slowly, “Ev, please look at me.”  
  
The silence between them hang heavy in the chilly winter air.  
  
“I can’t.” Evan eventually mumbled with a strain in his voice that Jonathan had never heard before. It sounded like Evan was on the verge of tears.  
  
“Why not?” Jonathan wanted to know and resisted the urge to move closer to his friend and reach for his hand in order to comfort him.  
  
Evan’s response was almost a whisper.

“Because I’m scared.”

Jonathan felt like someone had punched him in the stomach.

“Are you scared of me?” He asked even though he dreaded the answer.  
  
“No” Evan shook his head vehemently, “I’m not scared of you, Jon. And I’m not disgusted or something like that either, if that’s what you think.”  
  
The American released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in.  
“Then, what are you afraid of?”  
  
“I don’t know” Evan admitted and bit his lower lip thoughtfully; “I guess I’m afraid of what’s going to happen when I look at you.”  
  
Jonathan furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly.  
“What do you mean? What the hell do you think is going to happen? Why are you so scared of looking at me?”  
  
“I’m afraid that I will give in.” Evan explained even though it did not really explain anything, “That I can’t deny it any longer. That I find out that I’ve been lying to myself.”  
  
Jonathan was beyond confused.   
“I don’t understand, Ev. What are you talking about?”   
  
Evan closed his eyes as if he were in pain and pinched the bridge of his nose before he replied.  
“I thought it would go away eventually if I just pretended it wasn’t there but now after hearing what you said to Brian… I can’t ignore it anymore, or else I’m going to regret it eternally.”  
  
“Ignore what?” Jonathan asked, his voice was barely above a whisper.  
  
Evan finally opened his eyes to look at Jonathan and the intensity of his gaze was so strong it made him shiver. The Canadian stepped closer to him until they were only inches apart;he slowly, carefully searched their surroundings, checking if they were alone before wrapping one of his strong arms around Jonathan and resting his hand on his waist. He then looked back into Jonathan’s eyes, leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together, making Jonathan shiver again. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up when he felt Evan cup his face with one of his hands while his thumb gently caressed his jaw. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling and Jonathan got lost in the moment. The intense gaze out of Evan’s eyes, the warm sensation of his body against him, the tingling of his skin beneath Evan’s long fingers and his hot breath ghosting over his lips distracted him so much that he almost didn’t catch what the Canadian said.  
  
“I love you, Jon.” Evan murmured against Jonathan’s lips and the American felt his knees almost give in beneath him and he was sure he would have collapsed if it hadn’t been for Evan’s arm around his waist which he now used to pull Jonathan impossibly closer to him.    
Evan’s thumb tenderly brushed over Jonathan’s bottom lip before it was replaced by soft, warm lips and finally Jonathan managed to snap out of his stupor. His eyes fluttered shut and he pressed himself against the rock hard body in front of him He threw his arms around Evan’s neck and tangled his hands in his soft black hair before enthusiastically kissing him back. When Evan moaned against his mouth, it encouraged Jonathan to gently flick his tongue against Evan’s bottom lip and the Canadian gladly accepted the offer to deepen the kiss.  
It felt as if the kiss lasted for hours but in Jonathan’s opinion it still ended way too early. 

* * *

They were both breathless, panting heavily and Jonathan grinned like an idiot when Evan leaned down to press his nose against the crook of the American’s neck, inhaling deeply. He gently tucked at Evan’s hair between his fingers in order to make his friend look up at him. When he did, Jonathan pressed a quick kiss to Evan’s cold nose and grinned.  
  
“I love you too, Ev.”  
  
The Canadian returned the grin goofily and he looked like he was about to say something but suddenly they were interrupted by loud voices coming their way.  
  
“Lui, should really have bought a house with more toilets God, I have to take a piss so badly.”  
“Let’s just go around the corner. No one will see us there.”  
  
One of the voices belonged without any doubt to Brian and the other belonged to Tyler and that seemed to bring them both back into reality. No matter how much they wanted to just continue what they were doing, neither of them was ready to find out what their friends would say if they found out that their teammates were in love with each other. Even Luke, who was usually very open and anything but shy was still reluctant when it came to outing himself.    
Jonathan and Evan unwillingly let go of each other. Evan took a few steps away from him and all of the sudden Jonathan felt the cold wind tugging at his clothes stronger that before and he already missed the warmth of Evan’s body against his own.   
  
“There you are!” Tyler exclaimed when he saw the two forwards next to the house, “Where the hell have you two fucks been?”  
  
“Jon and I came up with an idea for a training unit and we needed a quiet place to discuss it.” Evan lied flawlessly.  
  
“And you have to do that at a party?” Tyler  
  
Jonathan shrugged.  
“It was a good idea.”  
  
Their tall teammate gave him a doubting look before apparently deciding that he didn’t care enough and that his bladder was way more important than interrogating his friends.   
  
“Whatever” He exclaimed before walking over to where Evan and Jonathan had been making out only seconds ago.   
The two men took the sound of Tyler’s zipper as their cue to leave but were stopped by Brian who winked at them with a cheeky grin.  
  
“I’d adjust my hair and clothes, if I were you.” He whispered and Jonathan saw Evan blush.  
  
“Shut up.” the Canadian whispered back before giving Jonathan a look that sent a jolt of excitement down his spine and he hurried to catch up with him, playfully bumping his shoulder against the Canadian’s.  
  
Oddly enough, no one at the party had noticed their absence and no one noticed that the two hockey players were standing a little closer than usual. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Mentions of smut. Not explicit at all (because I’m not really comfortable with that yet) but still. Better be safe than sorry or whatever :D

“Wow.”  
  
“I know.”  
  
“Wow.”  
  
“Jon, if you say that one more time I’m going to have to suffocate you with this pillow.” Evan said and they both knew that he didn’t mean it.  
  
They were lying in Evan’s bed, out of breath and sore all over. It had taken them a while to figure things out but once they had gotten the hang of it, they couldn’t seem to stop.   
If Evan was to be honest, he didn’t even want to stop.   
If he could, he’d stay in bed with Jonathan for the rest of his life, having a great time while exploring each other, getting to know the other person’s body, finding out what felt good and what did not.   
If he thought about it, he could also very well die happy if he could just spend all day holding his boyfriend, hearing him breathe, talking to him and listening to the satisfied sighs he’d receive when he ran his hands up and down Jonathan’s back, savouring every kiss.  
  
“We should probably get up and head to the rink. We have to play away this weekend and I think we should prepare for that.” He eventually said although there was reluctance in his tone.  
  
“Way to ruin the moment, Ev.” Jonathan smiled at him, too happy and satisfied to really be mad.   
He untangled himself from Evan and sat up, looking around the room, searching for his pants.  
Evan followed his example and while they were getting dressed, a question popped into his mind and even though he felt awkward about it, he just needed to know.

“Hey Jon.”

“Mhm?” Jonathan’s voice was muffled because he had crawled under the bed to reach for his right sock.  
  
“The thing you did earlier…. you know… the stuff with your tongue…?”   
  
Jonathan’s head popped up from under the bed.  
  
“What about it?”  
  
“Where did you learn to do that? I thought you said, I was your first.”

Evan blushed and felt incredibly stupid as he watched his boyfriend sit down on the bed in order to put on his socks. The fact that he was smiling at him like he had just said something incredibly stupid made it worse.

“You are my first, Ev. Why would I lie to you?” Jonathan claimed, stood up and walked up to Evan, only to wrap his arms around him and pull him closer for a kiss which Evan returned with some hesitation.

“Then where did you learn it?” He asked after they separated and Jonathan shrugged.

“I asked Luke about some tips.”

“Luke? You told him about us?”

“Of course I told him, he’s like my big brother. I tell him everything. Besides,” Jonathan continued as he reached for their jackets and tossed Evan his, “It’s not as if he’d been surprised.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well his reaction when I told him was to slam his fist on the table and yell ‘Finally’. And then he told me that I am an idiot and that he and Ryan had a bet going on about how long it’s going to take us to get together.”

“Well he’s right about the part about you being an idiot but still… I don’t know how to feel about this. What if he tells anyone?” Evan asked while shrugging his jacket on and reaching for his keys.

Jonathan stopped his hand before he could open the door, took it in his and gently squeezed it reassuringly.

“He won’t. Luke has the same problem with his relationship with Ryan.”

Evan nodded but didn’t let go of Jonathan’s hand.

“What if we’ll never be able to tell anyone?” He wanted to know, his heart was suddenly pounding in his chest, “Or worse: what if our friends and teammates find out?”

“Do you seriously think they would hate us all of the sudden?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Evan said and bit his lip, while running his hand through his hair, tugging on it. “What if they don’t hate us but start acting weird instead. Like, what if they don’t want us in the same changing room or something like that. What about Tyler?”

“What about him?”

“You know how he is. He’s always running around calling people the f-word.”

“It’s just a word Evan. It’s a stupid word and he is stupid for using it but Tyler is also one of your closest friends. I’d bet if you were to come out to him, he’d stop saying it immediately and then go and walk with us in a pride parade.”

“But what if-“

“Ev, you’re getting way too worked up about a hypothetical situation. No one’s forcing you to come out. Hell, do you think that I’m ready for that? Fuck no. So you need to stop worrying about this stupid stuff. And you also need to stop pulling on your hair. You’ll go bald and then I’m not going to love you anymore.”

Evan grinned at that and pulled Jon closer to him before leaning forwards, pinning his boyfriend between himself and the door.

“So you only love me for my hair?”

Jonathan returned the smile.

“That and your huge, hard d-“

Evan kissed him before he had the chance to finish the sentence.

* * *

The away game was about a seven hour drive away and although Jonathan was happy that they had rented a bus instead of flying, he was definitely too tall for the seats and he could only imagine how Tyler and Luke must feel.

Evan on the other hand, seemed to have surprisingly no problem with the uncomfortable position he was in, as the Canadian was fast asleep, snoring softly. Normally, Jonathan would have found that adorable but right now he could only focus on the pain in his knees until he couldn’t take it anymore.

He gently nudged Evan to wake him up and leaned closer.

“Hey, Ev.” he whispered in his ear.

“What?” Evan’s sleepy voice was so incredibly cute Jonathan had to use all of his strength to not kiss him.

“I’m uncomfortable.”

“And why is that my problem?”

“Because you’re my boyfriend and you love me. Also, because if you don’t help me I’ll never do the thing with my tongue again. You know? The thing you liked so much last time?”

“Jesus, Jon.” Evan whispered and put a hand over his boyfriend’s mouth to shut him up. Partly because he was afraid anyone could hear them and partly because hearing Jonathan talk about the stuff they did in bed in his low, husky voice was a major turn-on and the last thing he could use was getting hard during a long bus drive. “Alright, move a little.”

Jonathan did as he was told and Evan helped him find a more comfortable position by having him sit a little bit sideways so that he could stretch out his legs, and pulled him back to lean against his own body for support.   
Jonathan’s head was now resting on his shoulder. His boyfriend sighed and closed his eyes, finally able to get some sleep. Evan flipped Brian the bird, who had grinned at him from the front of the bus and did his best to ignore Luke’s knowing smile and Ryan’s curious glances.   
Evan mouthed to Luke to shut up and put an arm around Jonathan so that he could be comfortable as well and closed his eyes. 


	7. Chapter 7

A pleasant side effect of being with Jonathan was the effect his boyfriend had on his performance in the rink. Evan quickly developed a desire to impress him whenever he had the opportunity because he had discovered that Jonathan tended to be a lot more affectionate after seeing his boyfriend excel on the ice. That was why he pushed himself even harder during training and of course also during the actual games. A fact that didn’t go unnoticed by multiple people besides Jonathan and his other teammates.   
  
After one away game in Pittsburgh that had ended especially successful for the Banana Bus Squad, even though the Pittsburgh team was supposedly better and more professional, the players had decided to go for a beer in order to celebrate.   
  
Evan, who had needed some fresh air, had gone outside and Ryan accompanied him because he had to take a leak and didn’t want to bother with the long waiting line in front of the restrooms. Shortly after the defenseman had disappeared behind a corner, Evan had gotten approached by the manager of the team they had played against.  
The man had been relentless and annoyingly insistent in his efforts of recruiting the forwards and the Canadian had only been able to get rid of him by accepting the manager’s card and telling him that he would think about the offer.

Frankly, Evan felt extremely flattered by the man’s persistence but he had no intentions of leaving the Banana Bus Squad, not to mention that he would have to move to another state and that wasn’t even a thing he considered an option. That was why he didn’t even think about the incident until one month later in March.

* * *

Jonathan had invited him over to the apartment that he shared with Luke. Normally, the tall bearded man and his boyfriend Ryan were always hanging around in the apartment, which was why Jon usually came over to Evan’s place in order to spend a few quiet hours together but the American had assured him that the two defensemen had gone out and wouldn’t be back until the next day.

Evan let himself inside with the key he had received from Jonathan even before they had become a couple.

Opening the door proved to be quite difficult because he was holding two heavy grocery bags and he silently cursed Jonathan for suggesting that they should try and cook together.

After he had managed to get past the obstacle, the Canadian went straight to the kitchen and placed the bags on the counter.

He then turned around, wondering where his boyfriend was.

“Jon?” He yelled and his voice echoed through the empty apartment. Evan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and pulled out his phone to check if he got the time wrong but he was, as always, exactly on time.

He heard a noise coming from the direction of Jonathan’s bedroom hence why he decided to go follow it.

“Jon?” He asked again as he opened the door and stepped inside to look around but much to his surprise, the room was empty. Evan was just about to reach for his phone again and call his boyfriend when he heard the noise again but this time it was closer.

“I was behind you the whole time.” A familiar voice exclaimed loudly and cackled maniacally.

The Canadian almost had a heart attack when a pair of hands landed on his shoulders from behind. Jonathan jumped on his back and wrapped his legs around his waist. Instinctively, Evan quickly reached for them and gripped his knees in order to hold his boyfriend in place. He could, however, not help that the sudden addition of Jonathan’s weight made him stumble for a few moments.

“Don’t you dare drop me, Ev.” Jonathan warned him, laughter in his voice and Evan grinned.

“I’m sorry but I can’t help it. I’m simply too weak. I think I’m going to fall down and crush you.” He claimed and pretended to stumble some more.

“No, Evan, don’t-“ But it was already too late. Evan had already reached the bed and fell backwards on the mattress, burying his boyfriend underneath his slightly taller body.

He used the short shock moment to roll around and reach for Jonathan’s hands, holding them in place while simultaneously placing his knees on each side of his boyfriend, effectively pinning him down.

Jonathan didn’t even bother to struggle. Instead he lifted his head as high as he could despite being restrained by Evan’s weight and the Canadian was more than happy to close the gap between them and capture Jonathan’s lips in a kiss that quickly developed into something way less innocent and it took Evan an immense amount of self-control to pull away and ignore the adorable pout on the American’s face.

“Let’s save this for later. “ He said, still panting.

He sat up and let go of Jonathan’s hands which turned out to be a bad idea because the sneaky bastard used the opportunity to reach for Evan’s belt, trying to open it, only to pout even harder when his hand got swatted away by his lover.

“If we ever want to eat today, we shouldn’t get carried away right now.”

“Well, maybe I want to skip dinner and just have dessert instead.” Jonathan said and reached for Evan’s pants once more but Evan stopped him again.

“I’m serious, Jon. I haven’t eaten all day and I’m starving.” The Canadian explained and that seemed to work. Almost immediately, Jonathan pushed Evan off of him, stood up and left the room. Evan followed him, curiously, after taking a few moments to gather himself.

He reached the kitchen and saw that Jon was already done unpacking the grocery bags. When Evan went over to help his boyfriend, the American swatted away his hand just like Evan had done mere minutes ago.

“What are you doing?” Evan wanted to know.

“I’m going to cook, you silly snowman.” Jonathan replied.

“I thought we wanted to do that together.”

“Yeah but you’re hungry and I can’t trust hungry people with the ingredients. Besides” Jonathan swirled around and pointed the knife he was holding at Evan, “I’ll be much quicker if I don’t have to give you instructions all the time.”

Evan blinked.

“You can cook?”

“I’m a grown ass man, of course I can cook.”

“Sure” Evan said and went over to the fridge to fetch a bottle of water. “Are you sure it didn’t have anything to do with Luke getting tired of always having too cook for you and forcing you to learn it.”

The American shrugged and grinned sheepishly.

“That may have been a reason. That and binge watching Master Chef at 2:30 am.”

Evan snorted, took a swig out of his bottle and took a few steps closer to his boyfriend. He wrapped his arms around him and kissed his temple softly before releasing him.

“I’m gonna set the table.” He said lowly and the smile Jon gave him filled him with so much joy, he was practically skipping his way over to the cutlery drawer.

* * *

They decided to watch a movie afterwards. Evan didn’t care much for horror but Jonathan got so excited when he saw that Friday the 13th was available on Netflix, he simply couldn’t say no to him, especially not after the amazing meal the American had cooked.

After he came back from the bathroom, Evan noticed the change in Jonathan’s behaviour immediately.

When he sat down and tried to put an arm around him, he pulled away and avoided making eye contact.

Evan didn’t know what had caused the sudden mood change but he was determined to find out so he grabbed the remote and paused the movie.

“Why did you do that?” Jonathan wanted to know, clearly aggravated.

“Because something is wrong with you and I need to know what.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Bullshit.”

“Why do you even care?”

“Because I love you?”

“Is that so?” Jonathan asked, tilting his head to the side. “Because when I love someone I wouldn’t make plans to move to the other side of the world without telling them.”

“The fuck are you talking about?”

In response, Jonathan held up a small white piece of paper that Evan recognized as the card he had received a month ago.

“Pittsburgh.” Jonathan said with a bitter tone in his voice. “If you want to dump me you can just tell me. You don’t have to leave the state to do that.”

“Jon, it’s not what you think. I’m not planning on transferring to Pittsburgh, that’s ridiculous. I only accepted the card so I could get rid of the manager. I never even planned on calling him. Where did you even find that?”

“It was in the pocket of your jacket.” Jonathan said and now he looked actually a bit ashamed.

“What were you doing with my jacket?”

“I was looking for condoms.” Jonathan admitted and Evan laughed at the absurdity of the situation before moving closer to his boyfriend and cupping his face with both hands. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. When he pulled back he could see that Jonathan was smiling again.

“You’re not leaving then?”

“Of course not. Why would I do that?”

Jonathan started to chew his bottom lip thoughtfully.

“Because Pittsburgh is more successful. They could pay you better. It would be a smart move for the future.”

Evan smiled at his boyfriend fondly and kissed him again, this time on the lips.

“You are my future, Jon.” He said and enjoyed the way his face lit up.  
The Canadian leaned in for another kiss but stopped shortly before their lips could connect. “By the way, did you find the condoms you were looking for?”

Jonathan grinned.

They didn’t finish the movie that evening.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please keep in mind that English is not my first language and please excuse any mistakes that I may have made :)  
> Also I love getting feedback so please tell me what you think ;)

“Hey Evan, you’re pretty close with Jonathan, right?” Tyler asked before his face disappeared beneath the fabric of his jersey as he pulled it over his head.  

“I guess you could say that.” Evan responded hesitantly and buckled up his belt. He quickly glanced over to Brian. Had the Irish man told anyone? Did Tyler find out about his relationship with his fellow forward?   
  
“Okay” Tyler said, “And Jonathan lives with Luke, right?”  
  
“Where are you going with this?” Evan asked and sat down on a bench in the locker rooms to tie his shoes.

“Did Jon ever mention something about Ryan hanging out with Luke? Like, is he at their place a lot?”

Evan looked up and eyed his friend suspiciously.

“Why are you asking?”

Tyler didn’t answer for several moments and started to chew on his bottom lip thoughtfully.

“Yeah, why does it matter if Ryan and Luke hang out together?” Marcel, who had just finished showering, chimed in.

Tyler sighed.  
“Okay. But this has to stay between us.”

“What is it?” Evan wanted to know. He had a bad feeling about this conversation.

“Last Friday, Anthony, Daithi and I came here for a late training unit. We didn’t expect anyone else to be there but…”

“But?” Marcel inquired.

“But it turned out that Luke and Ryan had a similar idea.”

Evan was now certain that he knew exactly, what his friend was going to say next but he had no idea how to stop him without causing suspicion.

“So, two of our defensemen were training together. I still don’t see-“

“They weren’t training.” Tyler interrupted Marcel, “I think they were having sex in here.”

A long silence followed Tyler’s statement and Evan, who tried to keep a neutral expression on his face, quickly glanced over the faces of his teammates.

He saw that Marcel’s jaw had almost dropped down to the floor as he stared at Tyler with wide eyes, clearly shocked.

Tyler, on the other hand looked uncomfortable. He was chewing on his bottom lip again, his gaze glued to the ground.

Evan then looked over to Brian whose face was mostly impassive but he could see how the Irish man’s jaw was clenched tightly as he tried to control his anger.

Marcel was the first one to break the silence.

“Wh-What makes you so sure? Did you see them?”

“Not really, no.” Tyler admitted and Marcel relaxed a little.

“Then why did you think they were… you know… having sex?”

“Because, when we entered the locker room, they were both extremely flustered, their hair was a mess and they were panting.”  
  
“Well, duh” Marcel rolled his eyes, “They just finished training.”  
  
“That’s what I thought at first too.”  Tyler nodded, “But then I noticed that they were wearing each other’s jerseys. Additionally, Daithi said that when Ryan walked past him, he saw a hickey on his neck.”

“And that’s why you think our two defensemen were fucking each other?” Brian, who had been silent until then, spoke up, “That’s hardly any evidence. Besides, even if they were having sex, what’s it to you? Are you going to out them publically?”

“No, of course not.”

Brian slammed the door to his locker shut.

“Then why do you care? Do you want them to use a separate changing room or something? Are you scared that one of them is going to hit on you? Because you’re not that hot, Tyler, don’t worry.”

“Geez, Brian, no need to freak out like that.” Marcel tried to intervene, “I’m sure Tyler didn’t mean anything like that.”

“Then I don’t see why we are discussing the personal lives of our teammates. Who they’re fucking is none of our business.”

“I know that. I just wanted to…” Tyler was lost for words and before he had the chance to say anything else, the angry Irish forward stormed out of the room.

“What the hell is up with him?”  Marcel asked as he shouldered his bag.

“Yeah, this isn’t even about him. Why did he freak out like that?” Tyler pondered, “I didn’t mean to sound like I wasn’t okay with Luke and Ryan having sex or whatever. I was just shocked and wanted to know more. What do you think, Evan?”

The Canadian was still sitting quietly on the bench, staring at the small dent in the door of the locker that Brian’s sudden outburst had caused. 

His mind was racing. Some of his teammates had found out about Luke and Ryan. He needed to tell them. He needed to find Brian and tell him, that everything was going to be okay. He needed to talk to Jonathan. His heart jumped.

Jonathan.

He had been right.

Most of his friends knew that two of their teammates weren’t straight and it didn’t seem to bother them as much as Evan had dreaded.

Of course he didn’t know how the rest of the team would react, not to mention everybody else. But the simple fact that at least Tyler and Marcel seemed to be alright with it filled him with hope.

Maybe, he and Jonathan wouldn’t have to hide their relationship forever.

He pushed the thought aside for a moment and managed to focus back on the conversation.

“I think that it’s not our business and that Brian probably has his reasons for reacting the way he did. I also think that we have more important stuff to worry about. Playoffs start in two weeks and we need to be ready if we wanna beat these fuckers from Chicago once more.”

With that, he grabbed his bag and exited the locker room.

He couldn’t wait to come home and talk to his boyfriend.


End file.
